There are a few simple ratios that can help reveal the status of your finance function. They highlight where effort is spent, how teams are structured, and whether finance is adding value or not. Organizations that understand their finance ratios can improve efficiency, strengthen insights, and increase the strategic influence of finance leaders.
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Today, CFOs and their teams are expected to do more with the same resources. They must guide investment priorities, support forecasting under uncertainty, manage global tax and regulatory complexity, and maintain operational control. This is a growing challenge, so in this blog we will outline certain ratios that provide the clarity needed to stay on top of your finance function.
The standard finance function typically includes four core areas, which are:
Each area plays a different role in supporting the organization. How they are structured significantly influences the efficiency and productivity of the overall function. For example, a centralized model often creates consistency and scale benefits, which reduces cost and cycle time.
In comparison, a decentralized model may be closer to business operations and deliver stronger partnership but can raise duplication and system fragmentation. Many leading companies adopt a hybrid or Center of Excellence model to balance proximity with standardization and efficiencies.
The size of the finance function is often influenced by things like revenue, the number of business units, legal entities, transactions, international footprint, and of course the tech stack. Benchmarking ratios allow organizations to compare themselves to peers of a similar size and complexity.
Finance function ratios generally fall into three categories. Each provides a different view of performance. They include:
Based on our experience, the strongest finance teams show alignment between cost, productivity, and digital maturity, rather than focusing on one metric at a time.
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Accounting ensures accurate transaction processing, regulatory compliance, and financial reporting. Ratios in this area highlight how effectively processes are standardized and how quickly reliable information can be produced.
Here are some important metrics to monitor on a monthly basis:
Organizations with shorter close cycles and fewer manual adjustments tend to have more reliable financial data, which strengthens forecasting and business decision-making.
FP&A supports budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, and performance insight. FP&A effectiveness often depends on how much time is available for analysis rather than data preparation. Useful metrics include:
High performing FP&A teams spend a larger share of their time advising business leaders, shaping financial outcomes, and supporting strategic decisions. With the increasing adoption of AI, more of the analytical work is being automated.
Treasury manages liquidity, risk, working capital, and funding strategies. Strong treasury performance enables resilience and flexibility, especially in times of economic uncertainty. Some of the key ratios to monitor include:
A well-structured treasury function ensures capital is accessible when needed and working capital is optimized to support growth.
Tax teams oversee compliance, reporting, and planning across jurisdictions. Ratios reveal how complexity and structural design influence workload and risk. Here are some typical measures:
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Ratios are only meaningful when interpreted in context. What I mean is that the industry, regulatory environment, organizational size and complexity, geographic footprint, and growth stage all influence what “good” looks like. So, it’s important to benchmark your finance function to peers that are similar to your organization.
For example, a company with a monthly close of 10 days may be outperforming peers in a highly regulated industry where the average is 15 days. Conversely, a 10-day close in a simple, single-entity business might suggest inefficiencies or underinvestment in automation. Similarly, FP&A headcount per $1 billion in revenue might appear high, but if the organization performs frequent scenario planning and detailed forecasting, that investment may be justified.
Furthermore, comparing your ratios to top quartile performers is often more insightful than looking at broad industry averages. If your Treasury visibility ratio shows only 60% of cash accessible in real time, but top performers in similar industries operate at 95%, it highlights an opportunity to invest in real-time cash reporting systems or streamline intercompany processes.
Benchmarking becomes truly actionable when paired with internal discussions about decision-making, process ownership, technology adoption, and talent capability. High ratios may indicate overstaffing, redundant processes, or lack of automation, whereas unusually low ratios could signal either under-resourcing or significant efficiencies.
Ultimately, interpreting benchmarks is not just about asking “where are we today?” But asking “what changes would enable us to become a high-performing finance function?” It’s your specific context that will turn benchmarks into the roadmap for building a best-in-class finance function.
Finance function ratios act as a guide to help leaders identify where the function is strong and where there is room for improvement. The most effective finance teams balance efficient execution with influence and foresight. Benchmarking provides the evidence and direction needed to continuously improve, support better decisions, and enhance strategic value.
A high performing finance team spends more of its time shaping business outcomes and less time managing data and manual tasks. This includes leveraging AI.
Every business is unique. Filter companies by industry, revenue range, geography, and ownership type. Remember to look for patterns rather than perfect matches.
Finance cost as % of revenue, finance FTEs per $1 billion in revenue, and finance days to close the books. Drill down into sub-functions where necessary.
As companies grow, automation and standardization typically increase, which often improve ratios. However, the opposite can also be true if the function is poorly managed.
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